Author Archives: ChoonJames

About ChoonJames

http://www.CountryTalkStory.com Choon James is a real estate broker in Hawaii and has a B.A. in English and TESL as a minor from Brigham Young University - Hawaii. She's the proud mother of four Eagle Scouts and one daughter. Choon is originally from Singapore. She comes from a family of ten children. Her mother was the second of her father's three wives. In the Chua household, they have Methodists, Catholics, Buddhists, Mormons, atheist and Taoist believers. "We're fortunate to grow up with diversity. My father’s best friend, Chandra, was a Hindu Indian who spoke Hokkien. My best childhood friends at school were Malay Muslims. We learned to focus on the merits and content very quickly and forget about the superficial exteriors. Like many in Hawaii, our immediate household is quite chop-suey as well. My husband is a Caucasian born in North Dakota and grew up in Massachusetts. In our immediate household, English, Mandarin, Fijian, Japanese, Hawaiian, Tahitian, French, and Spanish can be spoken. We love Hawaii. Its diversity and aloha represent the best in all of us!" Choon's past and present civic involvement includes the following: Defend Oahu Coalition - Founding member for Grassroots for smart planning Save Oahu Farmlands - Founding member Ko'olauloa Sustainable Communities Planning Advisory Committee Kahuku Hospital Board of Director Laie Point Community Association President & Board Member Laie Community Association Board BYU-Hawaii/CCH Alumni Association President Sierra Club Member Refugees Language Tutor Volunteer Amnesty International Freedom Writer Friends of "South Pass City", Wyoming, USA Boy Scouts of America Host - Country Talk Story - Olelo Public Television North Shore News columnist Huffington Post Hawaii Blogger

Priced out of paradise.

Lahaina, Maui has already priced local residents out of paradise.

Governor Green of Hawaii is now saying he’s exploring moratorium on property sales in historic Lahaina that has been devastated into a burnt war zone. He hopes to prevent the permanent displacement of Hawaiians and local residents.

Governor, that affordable ship has sailed.

Does the Governor not know that Lahaina has already been invaded by out of state and foreign owners? Properties in the area and elsewhere are already priced at $1M and beyond. There are occasional properties below the $1M price range and small condominiums.

By and large, Maui has become very gentrified. It has also become the retreat place of the rich and famous.

Fortunately, some of its City Council members have been trying to protect its local residents from being priced out due to rising costs, including escalating property taxes.

Proposed Real Property Tax Exemption for those living near PVT Landfill in Lualualei

Bill 39, CD1 raises interesting questions. The City Councilmember representing the District where the landfill is situated also asked for more dialogue in the Nanakuli Neighborhood Board first.

However, it’s important to note that hardly any bill or resolution is discussed or explained to residents as far as I’m aware of.

The impetus for this tax exemption appears to come from the unions. It makes as they represent a segment of their blue collar workers in this area. Unions should rightly advocate for their members.

Environmental Justice and Social Justice considerations are paramount in our public policies. So is fairness and even application of the law.

At a quick glance, the rationale for this Bill raises many questions.

  1. Is the city saying that those who live in this area are considered “expendables” and throwing an exemption is sufficient to make up for supposed “shortened life-span”, health hazards and other negative impacts from an active landfill?
  2. There are arbitrary lines of demarcation that will benefit those within a designated boundary. Those outside the immediate designated boundary will be disenfranchised. Is it fair?
  3. Is this a good policy to continue to pollute our island environment or should more emphasis be placed on recycling and limiting the amounts of landfill materials into our island. For example: Can there be an effort to initiate a recycling industry to say, repair appliances instead of simply throwing them away.
  4. Is the city working on implementing cutting-edge technology on this issue?
  5. The rationale provided by some supporters also raises questions.

The rationale above is Lualualei and Nanakuli have a lesser life-span of 10 years. What other contributing factors or data are there?

I

Is this 10-year life span sentence primarily due to the active PVT Landfill? This question is not to discount that negative impacts of landfills but it is to question the rationale used for this Bill.

The above two spots are opposite end of Oahu and not near PVT.

The fundamental question to be asked is the other two color spots outside of West Oahu. Those two other colored spots are not next to the active PVT landfill area. What could be the reasons for putting these areas into the shortened 10 year lifespan. Are there other factors?

Should the other two color spots be accorded the same property tax exemption?

What about those in Kahuku who live next to the industrial wind turbines with various negative health impacts?

Honolulu City Council’s 64% Pay Raise Process disses the public further

As if the 64% salary increase did not irritate the public enough. Here comes another bitter pill for the public.

Honolulu City Council District Val Okimoto introduced a new amendment to The Revised Honolulu City Charter on August 9, 2023

Okimoto’s new amendment gives absolute powers to the nominated Honolulu Salary Commission. It further disenfranchises the public’s opportunity for due process at the City Council and to hold their District Council Members accountable for their decisions.

Below is Resolution 23-193. Page 3 shows the amendment – – and is
not subject to rejection or alteration by the council or the mayor.”

In other words, the elected City Council will relinquish its responsibility to a nominated commission to decide the salary increases.

Historic Town of Lahaina, Maui burns down

It was a “perfect storm” with gusty winds and dry weather and a historic town of wooden structures. It’s compelling to see how fast the fire spread.

“Fire is a good servant, but a bad master” hits home on August 9, 2023. A hot dry summer causing dry vegetation along with gusty winds turned Lahaina into a war zone. The wooden structures did not stand a chance. The fire even burnt the vessels on the water.

Here are some screenshots taken from social media:

Before and After.
This is a photo of Pioneer Inn that was burnt down. We took this photo some time ago when our family was visiting Lahaina for leisure. I loved the history of the place. But I told myself that I would not be going back to Lahaina town. It had become over-commercialized. We walked from a hotel along a pathway next a private yard and home. I thought that it was too intrusive to the local residents and I did not want to be that part of that touristy crowd.
Lahaina was a bustling tourist center. These wooden structures didn’t stand a chance.

Oahu North Shore murderers found guilty

The pink-hair girl and the green-hair guy murdered Telma Boinville at the Sunset Beachfront vacation rental unit where Telma was cleaning.

Stephen Brown was found guilty on January 20, 2023. His partner Haile Dandurand requested a separate trial arguing that she was a also victim of abuse by Stephen Brown herself.

On August 1, 2023, Oregonian Hailey Dandurand was found GUILTY on all counts relating to Telma Boinville’s murder at a north shore vacation rental. Telma worked as a translator at Sunset Beach Elementary School and also worked as a cleaner.

The murder was so gruesome and heinous that one juror could not even look at the photos and asked to be released.

Telma’s 8-year-old daughter was also tied up in an upstairs bedroom. She was lucky that the vacation renters arrived at the premises and caused these two murderers to flee.

Report on Oahu landfill sites is available

This 1464 page Report is available online.

Wherever the site is, it’s worrisome. We’re a small island. How many times can we duplicate this modus operandi before we irreparably poison our environment and especially our connected water aquifer?

Are we putting our best efforts in Recycling and Re-use? Is it time to mandate that some items brought in must be take out – Garbage In, Garbage Out.

How the selection has evolved:


Landfill site in Oahu still a mystery

The Honolulu City County is supposed to provide a site for a new landfill.

The process for finding a new landfill has been ongoing. Right now, the deliberating process is unknown to the public.

This was a PBS Insights aired on June 15, 2023.

Here are some reading materials:

Read the 2012 Commission Report of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Landfill Site Selection (MACLS). Particularly, read the Minority Report by John B Goody on Page 47. “The revised site rankings were astounding, and seem to defy common sense.”

Kailua, Waianae, Kapolei, Waianae have all staked their grounds that they don’t want landfills in their areas.

The process has with its twists and turns.

The consultant compiling statistics for Mayor Peter Carlisle’s Advisory Committee on Landfill Site Selection said Wednesday it had made a big mistake. On Friday, just five days ago, the committee announced Kailua as the top ranked location for a new landfill. Its announcement was based on data compiled by SMS Research, a Honolulu firm hired by the city.

But in fact SMS President Jim Dannemiller said Wednesday he had made an “inadvertent data error” while compiling numbers provided by the advisory committee. The mistake changes the positions of almost all eleven potential landfill sites on the site selection list.

A site described as “Upland Kahuku 2” was seventh on the list released Friday. Now it is the new #1. “Upland Kahuku 1,” which is adjacent to “Upland Kahuku 2” is second on the revised list.

The Ameron Quarry moved from first on Friday’s list to fifth on the revised list.

Here is the new updated list released Wednesday afternoon.

1. Upland Kahuku 2 – (previously ranked #7)

2. Upland Kahuku 1- (previously ranked #3)

3. Upland Pupukea 2 – (previously ranked #6)

4. Upland Pupukea 1 – (previously ranked #4)

5. Ameron Quarry – (previously ranked #1

This is the list:

REQUESTING THE CITY ADMINISTRATION TO EVALUATE FOR COMPLIANCE
WITH ACT 73, SESSION LAWS OF HAWAII 2020, THE ELEVEN SITES PREVIOUSLY
IDENTIFIED BY CITY STUDIES AS POTENTIAL REPLACEMENTS FOR THE
WAIMANALO GULCH SANITARY LANDFILL AND ADDITIONAL POTENTIAL
WAIMANALO GULCH SANITARY LANDFILL REPLACEMENT SITES, INCLUDING
LANDS HELD BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS IN
KALAELOA.

• Ameron Quarry,

• Kaneohe by H-3,

• Kapaa Quarry Road,

• Keaau,

• Upland Hawaii Kai,

• Upland Kahuku 1,

• Upland Kahuku 2,

• Upland Laie,

• Upland Nanakuli 1,

• Upland Pupukea 1, and •

Upland Pupukea 2; and

A New Mayor, A New Commission:

Here is more reading material for this issue.

The City and County of Honolulu (“City”) Department of Environmental Services (“ENV”) has begun identifying potential sites for its next municipal solid waste landfill. To help discern potential sites, ENV formed a Landfill Advisory Committee (“LAC”) to evaluate the sites identified to meet current State regulations. The LAC process is documented in the Final Report.

Honolulu City Council – 64% Pay Increase for FY 2024

There are lots of twists and turns, machinations, and colouring to this pay increase controversy.

The fundamental question is whether the Council Chair Tommy Waters would place Resolutions 23-81 and Resolutions 23-82 on the June 7, 2023 Public Hearing Agenda to address the 64% pay increase.

Resolutions 81 & 82 continue to be ignored and time is quickly running out.

If no actions are taken against the Salary Commission‘s recommended increase, these 64% pay raises automatically become effective as of July 1, 2023.

Also, Tommy Waters and Mayor Blangiardi’s rationale for salary raises can be read in their testimonies to the Salary Commission. Salary Commission members are nominated by Mayor and approved by City Council.

The public’s most awaited meeting was June 7, 2023 – – to see whether the Council would reject the huge leap in pay raise for themselves. Scroll to 6:59 thereabouts to hear Bill10 on Page 27 Agenda.

Honolulu City Council Chair Tommy Waters presided at the June 7. The 10 AM Hearing started at 10:45 AM and finished about nine hours later. Chair Waters did not place Resolutions 23-81 and 23-82 relating to the 64% salary increases on the Agenda.

Bill 10 was the most appropriate agenda item to opine on this 64% raise. Bill 10 was a comprehensive legislative packet to approve the County Budget for the Fiscal Year July 1, 2023 to June 20, 2024. Bill 10 would be where the funds for these pay raises needed to be penciled in. You can look at the June 7 Agenda and click Bill 10 (Page 27) to watch the video proceedings.

Residents were unhappy that Bill 10 was pushed to the back of the agenda. The opportunity for the public to testify began at about 7:00 p.m. Some residents had to leave. The marathon 10:00 AM Council Hearing began at 10:45 AM.

Written testimonies were also submitted earlier by the public. There was also an online petition – “Don’t hide, let the people decide your 64% pay raise”.

Despite the public uproar, Chair Waters dug in his heels and denied public participation by ignoring Resolutions 81 and 82.

Here is brief chronology for this 64% pay raise issue:

January 19, 2023: The nomination of Rebecca Soon through Resolution 23-7 to the Honolulu Salary Commission was submitted by Chair Tommy Waters.

Rebecca Soon is the daughter of Ray Soon (Former Chief of Staff to Mayor Kirk Caldwell) and Cheryl Soon.

January 25, 2023: Listen to the conversation beginning at 4:00 between Salary Commission nominee Rebecca Soon with Waters, Kia’aina, and Cordero.

Listen to the conversation between Chair Tommy Waters, Esther Kia’aina and Radiant Cordero about “full-time” or “part-time” and what salary compensation should be. Beginning at 4:00 pm with this Video

March 21. 2023: Local news media like KITV were following this issue. KHON2 also covered the Proposed Salary for City Council and Administration. The Salary Commission Meeting Agenda included FOR ACTION for deliberation and decision-making relating to the City pay raises:

April 25, 2023: Honolulu Salary Commission’s Press Release adopting its FY24 Salary Schedule and Calls For Action To Attract Public Servants To The City.

The Pearl City Neighborhood Board, a citizen grassroots advisory board, voted to oppose the proposed Salary Increases.

April 27, 2023: Two Resolutions responding to the Salary increases were introduced By City Council members Augie Tulba and Andria Tupola – – Resolutions 23-81 and Resolutions 23-82 to partially or impartially reject the increases.

But City Council Chair Tommy Waters refused to allow these two resolutions a public hearing. Doing nothing about the Salary Commission recommended increases would automatically triggers the increases on July 1, 2023.

May 15, 2023: Chair Tommy Waters signed REQUEST FOR SEALED BIDS ( “RFB”) to perform a salary analysis and comparison study for the Honolulu Salary Commission. Closed Date May 30m 2023. Cost was supposedly $100,000.00 A curious person would ask who received this very seemingly short-noticed request and turn-around report.

May 19, 2023: Maikiki Neighborhood Board also opposed the salary hikes. Makiki Board Chair wrote its opposing resolution due to unprecedented negative reactions to the pay raises.

May 25, 2023: With a horse before the cart action, Chair Waters and Vice-Chair Esther Kia’aina introduced Bill 33 and Resolution 23-109 to prohibit outside empolyment for city council members. Written testimonies on his two similar actions point to “distractions” intentions.

Resolutions 81 and 82 to reject the 64% increase continued to be denied a public hearing by Chair Waters.

June 7, 2023: City Council approves salary increase through inaction in Bill 10. Scroll to 6:57 to watch proceedings. Only Augie Tulba and Andria Tupola voted “NO” in addressing the pay raises. Bill 33 to Prohibit Outside Employment was rescinded and cancelled. Companion Resolution 12-109 passed First Reading. No funds were penciled into the Budget to address the 64% salary increases at this hearing. (However, keep it mind that there is an allowed shell game of moving funds without public votes.)

The two potent Resolutions 23-81 and Resolutions 23-82 to partially or impartially reject the increases remain ignored.

However, the D-Day is June 25 for Chair Tommy Waters to reverse this decision. Waters can still call a Special Hearing. Funds for these 64% pay increases have to be penciled in. The next question is: Where will these salary funds be taken from?

During the entire course of this 64% pay increase controversy, Chair Tommy Waters offered many contradicting rationale, including Conflicts of Interests and why the City Council should not vote for its own salary increases.

However, the Director of the Honolulu Ethics Commission Jan Yamane, who was invited to the June 7 Hearing, also clarified that City Council members could vote on these salary issues by filing a Conflict of Interest Disclosure. A flurry of Conflict of Interests was filed subsequently by the council members.

Contrary to what current Council Chair Waters is insisting about not being able to vote against the Honolulu Salary Commission, here is an example of another City Council Chair Ernie Martin who rejected pay raises in 2013 by introducing Resolution 13-88 himself.

A Happy Day in Jordan

On June 1, 2023, Jordon’s King Abdullah’s eldest son Crown Prince Al Hussein and Saudi Arabian architect Rajwa Al Saif got married at Zahran Palace, Amman, Jordan.

Jordon has been a strong ally with the U.S. Hopefully, the next generation will continue to promote democratic values and world peace as much as possible. The Islamic State has many values that we can emulate as well. The bride went to Syracuse University in upstate New York.

It is an elegant and lavish wedding fit for kings and queens. But, it’s hard to not forget that security is very tight. Having armed guards is part of life. Friends who visit as tourists in the Middle East all report having armed guards as part of the tourism package.

The Crown Prince of Great Britain has a close relationship with the Crown Prince of Jordon. Hopefully, this next generation will focus on more world peace. The future remains bright between these countries and the USA.